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Digital Textbooks Come to the Rescue for Paramedic Students

By Editorial Staff
  |  
  2 Min Read
Digital Textbooks Come to the Rescue for Paramedic Students

Georgian College paramedic programs have officially ousted hardcopy textbooks in favour of e-books, to the delight of paramedic students.

Students training to be first responders in emergency situations have to be physically fit to offer help. Even for them, however, the weight of carrying 25 pounds of bound paper to class is a little much. For Georgian College Paramedic students, though, the load has gotten a whole lot lighter thanks to digital technology.

Students training to be first responders in emergency situations have to be physically fit to offer help. Even for them, however, the weight of carrying 25 pounds of bound paper to class is a little much. For Georgian College Paramedic students, though, the load has gotten a whole lot lighter thanks to digital technology.

Georgian College paramedic programs have officially ousted hardcopy textbooks in favour of e-books, to the delight of paramedic students.

A required item for the paramedic program, the iPad Mini is revolutionizing the way students access textbook information. Advantages include being able to underline and search for specific topics easily, as well as links to interactive online content. Add to this the bonus of being able to study anytime, anywhere. To top it off, students can trim expenses with savings in price of around 25 per cent for electronic versions of textbooks.

“It’s so convenient. I can do my reading anywhere without carrying around books,” said paramedic student Kayla Slade. “It’s also more interactive than textbooks, because they link to videos, quizzes and diagrams so easily. It’s hugely helpful to us to have all your books fit into a pocket or a purse.”

Even the system for submitting student essays has been transformed into digital form.

“My students submit their essays digitally though Turnitin, I mark them using the Word or Adobe PDF review functions and return them via email,” says instructor Rob Theriault. “There are no piles of paper slipped under my office door. It’s great to be green!”

The switch to digital form is in line with Georgian College’s forward thinking, evident in the introduction in previous years of class podcasts and programs available online. Embracing the digital age has been beneficial for everyone it seems – students, faculty, and even the planet.

One response to “Digital Textbooks Come to the Rescue for Paramedic Students”

  1. Ken Grauer says:

    Digital textbooks offer additional potential advantages beyond those cited above if the author tailors his/her writing specifically for digital publication (rather than simply translating their hard copy book into ePub format). For example – there are NO pages with digital books (since change in font size instantly reduces or increases the prior page count). Rather than reference to “page X” in the book – numerical organization of key topics plus access to electronic Search makes cross-referencing a cinch. There are no space limitations to amount of content (as there are when keeping books to manageable size). Digital textbooks should be all in color (many textbooks are black & white). There is option to expand Figures to as large as you like with simple tap or “stretch” of the finger. If time is short – you can purchase and download a needed reference within seconds (instead of waiting days-to-weeks for delivery of a hard copy book). Finally – while the average price of digital textbooks may be 25% less than their hard copy counterparts – the nature of price structuring royalties in combination with far lower publication costs make possible far greater price reductions for an overall superior product.

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